by The Eurostar and T5
Edulcore Cicciotto:
A day has passed since the storm hit the island. There is havoc everywhere, the apartment complex is half-destroyed, Danny is in bad shape, the hovercraft is totaled, and everyone has scars. There is a lot of work to do everywhere -- people to help, damages to repair.
But I have a priority, and Ameristar is here with me to help. My UFO still lies damaged on the beach, and we have to hide it before people come and questions begin.
"Jackie, you say you know this technology?"
"Sure. It's the same kind of tech from which the Gaia Unit derives. Hoods technology."
"Oh. Always the Hoods..."
"They taught science and technology to humans in the first place... Well, not exactly the Hoods, but the aliens whose interests they represent."
"So aliens are a reality..."
"From what I know, many species of aliens are on Earth... but I should ask the old man what I can tell you before I say any more. After all, you refused to be one of us."
"Right. But you have still to reveal why you came here yesterday, right in the middle of the storm."
"I came to help... and looking at this, I came at the right time." Her eyes are fixed on the sword, which hangs from my back inside a makeshift scabbard.
"Looking at my sword? Do you know something about it?"
"I was talking about the UFO."
"Ah."
The UFO is in really bad shape. Its metal -- which always looked like living tissue, shining and glowing and liquid -- now seems like scrap tin.
Ameristar looks around the vessel. She touches some of the controls, and then she finds success in opening a secret door on the pavement. "I think we can only salvage the engine."
"And what use would it be?"
"We can put it in the hovercraft. It would be more useful than a UFO that can transport only five people."
"And you would be able to adapt it?"
"Well, I have the plans. I'm sure Quantos, Chance, and maybe Montag can work on them."
"Mmm... If only Marv Velo was still here..." I whisper.
Ameristar is working with her lasers to separate the engine. It takes only a few minutes. Then she throws the rest of the UFO into the ocean. She then takes the engine and disappears, teleporting herself back to the headquarters, where the others are making plans.
It's after she has gone that a tall man from the far side of the beach comes walking toward me. He waves his hand. Who is he? A friend?
When he is one hundred and fifty meters from my position, my eagle sight recognizes him. I have met him -- or others just like him -- more than one time during my escape.
Platinum blonde, square jawed, steel muscles.
A Giorgio!
Giorgio realized that walking up to such a dangerous man as Edulcore Cicciotto could be suicide, but the risk was worth it. After all, the Futurists -- the name the magic-wielding Cloaks preferred to call themselves -- that had been sighted on the island were still alive, so that must have meant there was still a chance to recruit him.
Edulcore decided to not panic but instead faced the man on his own terms. So, raising his sword, he strode out of the UFO and stopped just outside the entrance.
Giorgio raised his hands and said, "Don't worry, man. I come in peace... this time." He showed a clean, shiny row of teeth. "I have come to plead for your wisdom and participation in the greatest endeavor in humanity's history."
"A-ha... and what exactly is that? Tell me."
"Simple -- the end of all wars and unjustified struggles that your people seem to never get on top of." He sat down on a small beach folding-chair. "I come with the offer of realizing your dreams, Edulcore -- or should I call you Eurostar or Raptor? What kind of a name is that, anyway?"
Edulcore glared at him.
"Okay, okay. No need to get hostile here, man. Just relax and listen."
Suspicion and paranoia, which the sword magnified, made Edulcore a bit more on edge than usual. What was it about this man that scared him so? He didn't seem that dangerous if you looked at him. He wore a tight white T-shirt that didn't reveal any weapons underneath, black shorts, and a pair of Nike shoes. His sunglasses were made out of turquoise lenses and silvery frames. They looked very expensive.
Edulcore managed to relax just a bit, but not enough to put away the sword. "Okay. I'll listen."
Edulcore Cicciotto:
The Giorgio turns around and looks toward the setting sun. "You see, Ed, the world is just a playground. For forces beyond your understanding. What you see -- the sky, the beach, the mighty ocean -- that's just the surface, a lovely package that wraps up the true meaning of existence... so as not to scare human eyes."
"You came here to sell me this crap?"
"Strange that you dismiss my words so easily. That would be the common man's reaction... but you? You have witnessed marvels, Euro. You have fought monsters, demons, and aliens. You should know that reality is a lie -- a lie created for the family man to keep from being scared every time the sun sets."
I stay silent.
"You begin to see the truth? I know all the doubt you ever had. I know of your strange dreams. I know of the dwarf. I know everything!"
The dwarf? How can he know?
"I know because I see beyond the curtains, Ed. My eyes are open to the truth. Those little rips in the illusion you know as reality is the norm for me... and for my fellow associates."
"You mean... those Hoods?"
"Yes, Edulcore. The Hoods -- the last hope for humanity."
"You tried to kill me. And I have seen you die. Two times, at least."
"Death... death... Ah, the greatest of all lies."
"You mean you weren't trying to kill me?"
"Exactly. I was protecting you. Who killed the whore that was about to poison you in Vegas? I did. And I was also trying to protect you from your father in Area 51."
"What do you know about my father?"
"Sorry to disappoint you, but your dad was a renegade. He left the Hoods to follow a woman -- a witch, a betrayer of humankind. But without that sin, you would have never been born. You who represent the coming of a new age. You who could be the one to tear the veil of falsity with your newfound claw."
The sword! That's what he wants.
"We know the future, Ed. Everyone could, if not for the lie that is reality. We can. We know that you will bring an era of peace and prosperity for everyone, human AND metahuman. You have just to join us. You will be amazed to discover who has joined us already. Even people very close to you. Even one of your teammates, the Swedish one."
Chance? Wait... what was Ameristar saying yesterday? Something about Kristofer betraying the MBL?
"You must be with us. You need to be trained. You need to be taught. And... you need to be protected."
"Protected from?"
"From the greatest traitors of humankind. From the magic dwellers -- the Cloaks, who like to call themselves the Futurists -- the ones who want to place the human race in chains."
"Tell me more."
"They want your sword. They want her for their own schemes. They look for raw power, Edulcore. They're eager for magical artifacts."
"And you? Don't you look for the same?"
"No! You don't understand, Ed! We look for the man. We look for man. It's you that we seek. Not magical powers, but pure intelligence. Our ancestors came to Earth forty-thousand years ago to bring man out of the darkness, teaching him science and technology. They were about to create heaven on Earth. But the darkness fought back, and magic was unleashed over the planet. Magic, superstition, unmotivated fear -- those were the wizards' gifts to Earth. But your coming can stop this, Edulcore. Your coming could really be the beginning of a new enlightenment for man."
So much crap. Yet the man seems sincere. I feel an instinctive confidence in him.
"What should I do?" I say, puzzled.
"Follow me," is his answer.